Calgary family-owned dry cleaner collects, cleans winter jackets then gives them away

Imran Rajpoot owns Dolphin Dry Cleaners, which has seven Calgary locations. Rajpoot cleans gently-used donated items, then gives them away to those who need a winter jacket.

Dolphin Dry Cleaners is once again collecting gently-used winter gear at all seven of its locations around Calgary, dry cleaning them, and giving them away to people who need them.

The owner of Dolphin Dry Cleaners, Imran Rajpoot, gave away his first winter coat 20 years ago.  He quickly understood the importance of having a quality winter jacket in Calgary.

"Here in Calgary, winter gear is a necessity of life," he said, in a release. "Especially for those living on the streets. If through my program we’ve saved one life, and helped at least a few people get through the cold, hard, long winter nights, that is enough for me."

Every Saturday, Rajpoot loads a Dolphin Dry Cleaners van with freshly-cleaned winter coats, as well as homemade chicken salad sandwiches made by his wife, hot potatoes, coffee and biscuits to distribute while handing out winter wear downtown, a tradition they've followed for 12 years.

"Initially we’d be able to serve around 30 people in an hour," said Rajpoot. "Now, on a busy day, we serve 300 people in 20 minutes. All of the food and all of the clothing gets picked up each week."

To meet demand, Dolphin Dry Cleaners is asking Calgarians to drop by one of its locations across the city to drop off hoodies, fleece jackets, sockets, construction wear, winter jackets, toques, ski pants and blankets.

For more information, go to the Dolphin Dry Cleaners website.